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Wow, I’m surprised. I completely disagree with you, I was actually disapointed by this episode. ( just to be clear, it’s good. In my opinion it’s just weak by Gravity Falls standards )

The backstory in itself isn’t very interesting. It’s necessary, but but we really don’t learn something concretely new that we couldn’t figure out from the previous one except for the details. “Brothers, conflictual relationship, Ford grew up to study GF mysteries, Stan to be the conman we know, then they have an incident and, probably because of Stan, Ford ends up trapped in the other universe”…

Now here’s the thing. Having this backstory told is fine. Have it be in an extra long episode is a bit annoying. But most importantly, if the backstory wasn’t gonna be groundbreaking in itself, they should have gone stronger with the comedy, and ( again, by GF standards ), the comedy really wasn’t that strong…

Remember that thing he said when he had become fully crazy at the end of the film in “Society of the Blind Eye”? He was speaking in code, saying “Bill Cipher Triangle”. The thing he says backwards is the same code.

Y’know something suddenly just came to me. Where did Ford get the new coat and the turtleneck? It doesn’t seem to be the same stuff he brought with him. Did he sew it in the new dimension? There’s probably some form of intelligent society in the other dimension that could help him create that. Little detail that I think might be worth looking at in the future.

On the subject of JK Simmons roles, it can’t be a complete coincidence that they cast him in a role that involves both being an inventor and portals. Cave Johnson speaking!

This episode was a huge infodump, but one that’s been in the works for three years(!), so it’s very welcome. There were so many references to previous episodes that it almost played out like a game of spot-the-in-joke to keep longtime fans happy through the extended running time. The one that caught my eye the most was back when Stanley punched a hole through the boards over the cave in New Jersey. The hole formed the shape of an inverted triangle with little feet. Even decades before the series proper, Bill is always watching.

I do miss Wendy too and hope they include her in more adventures like they have since “Into the Bunker”. A part of it has to do with the schedule; it took me a bit to remember that her last appearance was only three episodes ago. I’m one of those people who actually liked the romance subplot in season 1. Dipper and Wendy had some very natural, non-stereotypical interactions and felt like they developed a real rapport. There was only one way it was ever going to end, and “Into the Bunker” was the perfect sendoff to that arc in my opinion.

And finally, a thought that occurred to me shortly after watching the episode: “Stan is not what he seems.” There are two Stans in this equation now…

I don’t even watch Gravity Falls but I came here because I was bored. 😀 LOL. Doug, you WERE saying “Stan Lee”. I have to take Rob’s side on this one and I’m still kinda mad at him for not liking Mamma Mia. LOL.

The hiatuses are because Disney wants to get as much out of the series as possible, since it’s going to have an actual planned ending. Alex Hirsch, the creator, tweeted that season 2 was finished about a week after ‘Not what he seems’ aired. Also, for Gravity falls, airing once every 3 weeks is the standerd, not an hiatus.

Has Doug never been around goats before? Like I know he’s not really a big animal person and he got animal facts mixed up before (like calling a leopard a cheetah) but dang is he really that much of a city boy? Well there’s a goat in SU (right?) so maybe then he will realize that goats just have those eyes and then his mind will be blown.

I’m not big on the long, long breaks between episodes, but if it means they’re putting in time with the show, it’s worth it. Besides the next one is apparently airing August 3rd and the next on August 24th, which is a comparatively easy wait.

A couple bits of trivia about this episode:
-When Ford pulls McGucket back from the other dimension, he says something that seems to be gibberish. It’s actually the same thing he says at the end of his memory-tube in “Society of the Blind Eye”, except backward. Apparently, if you put the Atbash cipher to it, it means “Bill Cipher Triangle”.
-In the backstory, StanLEY is the tougher of the brothers and Ford is the wimpier, nerdy one. But in his memory from “Dreamscapers”, Stan-LEH claims to have been “the biggest wimp on the playground”. His dad didn’t make him take boxing lessons until he was seemingly about Dipper’s age, if not a little older. Was he playing the part of Ford to a point, then incorporating some of himself into him? Was it just a lie? If so, why tell that to just Soos?
-Young Blubbs shows up in the convenience store with a “Daryl” name tag. Did we ever get a first name for Durland?
-The intro is a little different. Can you spot how?
-Of the many mistakes Stan-(Sylvester Stallone saying “law!”) has made, changing the name “The Murder Hut” was the worst, followed by dat mullet.

As much as I loved this episode, I also ended up feeling a bit depressed by it. What with how Stanley and Stanford were so close as kids, only for that relationship to break apart because of a stupid mistake. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better anytime soon, not to mention what this means for Dipper and Mabel…

Still, I really enjoyed this one, as it certainly explained a lot of things (also JK Simmons is awesome in his role as Stanford!), but the three week wait is a real pain. I know that seems to be standard, but given the way things are going, we really want to know what happens next… goddamnit, Disney…

Also the following episode is apparently a filler… which should be annoying, but on the plus side, it has “Weird Al” Yankovic as a guest voice! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Anyone else noticed that the perpetual motion machine was still working when stanley left it the grate was even in it’s place, but when stnford revealed it,the grate on the bottom was pulled off, perhaps there was a third person that actually sabotaged the machine.

First of all he Doug was saying stan lee not stanley. Anyways as soon as the episode started i knew the author of the three books was gonna be Stans brother and i did like the episode. I can’t wait to see bill cypher come back that should be awesome. Rob get ready for all the spongebob hate comments you’ll get. Also does anyone think little Gideon will come back to the show at all?

I think we’ll see Gideon again. In fact, since a five-pointed star with an eye in it appears in both Bill Cipher’s wheel of symbols and in/on widdle ol’ his Tent o’ Telepathy, he may even play a big role.

This episode was indeed more than worth the wait, it managed to answer so many questions and revealed so much back-story, and yet didn’t feel like a massive exposition dump, mostly because the drama and comedy was both excellent.

I really hope Stanford becomes a regular part of the cast, I think he might be becoming one my favorite characters, and no not just because he’s voiced by J.K. Simmons, although I admit that does help.

I do really hope that after this episode the show actually gets a regular schedule again, I’m starting to regret not waiting until the show has ended before I started watching.

So, info-dump. I know some other people have addressed some of these things but here we go in a hopefully more readable form:

Gompers’ goat eyes are actually totally normal goat eyes. That’s what they look like. We also saw Gompers as a kid when Dipper and Mabel went back in time so Gompers might just be a regular goat.http://imgur.com/kJ7lTxq

Also, I’m gonna go ahead and say that either Blendin broke the project or something else similar to that. Remember that Stanley put the grate back on the project before he left but then it was off in the morning. Also Stanley threw the toffee peanuts bag under the table yet it was several feet away from the table in the morning.

The baby that their mom was holding couldn’t possibly be Mabel and Dipper’s grandparent because the year was 1972. “Shermie” must have been an older brother and that baby was either a fourth sibling that hasn’t been mentioned by name yet or is Shermie’s kid. Cuz that baby was at most 1 year old in 1972, so in 2012 they would only be 40. Which, by the way, means the Stans are only in their late 50’s. Not exactly old men.

It’s also been pointed out by the fandom that (Stan)Ley has a hard time saying “please”, while (Stan)Ford has a hard time saying “thank you”.

Also I can’t be the only one that hopes in future episodes we see a combustible lemon somewhere in Ford’s workshop.

I wonder also if Ford is going to point out how weird it is that Mabel, Dipper, and Wendy only have 4 fingers.

Ford: Did you break my project.
Stanley: . . . Yes.
Ford: WELL WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T YOU SAY SO!
Stanley: . . ..
Ford: I’ve carried your dumb ass far too long I’m not going to lose a scholarship because you have your mind on your peanuts instead of in fucking line.
Stanley: . . ..
Ford: WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!!
—————–
Postcard from Ford: Come to Gravity Falls. You’ve got ten minutes you pansy ass fruit fuck!
—————–
Father: I gave the hammer to Stanley where is it?
Ford: Why would you give it to Stanley? You give a calculator to a retard and he’ll try to turn on a TV with it.
—————–
Stanley: Hey, wait up!
Ford: Just run faster than you give handjobs.